Filling Hollow Spaces
by Word Nerds
Summary: Just a general story on young Lorelai and Rory how they lived in Stars Hollow before the show started, dealing with their life, each other and meeting certain people.
1. First Day of School

Disclaimer: We don't own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls, the WB or anything even remotely related to it.

Summary: Just a cute, general story focusing on Rory and Lorelai's life in Stars Hollow before the show started. We both felt there was not enough stories of that sort so we decided to write one.

Chapter 1:

The sun was shining through the window of the potting shed, and Rory yawned, full of anticipation and eyes ablaze. It was her first day of second grade. Of course, she'd been up for hours in excitement. Lorelai had bought her a brand new shirt and overalls, and a shiny new backpack. After Lorelai had been promoted to day manager, they were beginning to get back on their feet.

Soon Lorelai was up on her feet, too. "Mom! Mom!" giggled Rory, her cheeks full and rosy. "It's the first day of school!" Lorelai knew that Rory looked forward to the first day of school as much as her birthday, or more. She got up, and helped Rory put on her new clothes.

"Mom! School starts in five minutes," she said, in a hushed and excited voice. She smiled mischievously.

"Rory," Lorelai said, playfully swatting at her. "It starts in two hours and five minutes, you silly girl." She thwacked her adorable eight year-old daughter with a pillow, then shushed herself and Rory. "We're going to bother _the golfers_," she laughed, and Rory climbed onto her mother's lap.

Rory went into a shelf in the shed, and grabbed a book. "Let's read," she said, as she plopped onto Lorelai's lap. Rory loved to read as much as her peers adored video games and the like.

Together with her 24 year-old mother Rory read and tried to understand Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice._ One would say that the book is too advanced for an eight year-old but not for Rory. Ever since she began to read she'd take books she found in the Inn and ask her mom to read them to her- or she'd read to Lorelai, with much less help than you'd expect.

However, Lorelai noticed her daughter fidgeting in her lap, not paying rapt attention to the going ons in the book, contrary to the usual intensity of Rory's listening.  
After 30 minutes, Lorelai smiled and closed the book, "Fine, I know you can't wait. Let's go down to the Inn, get some breakfast and maybe then we can start to go to the school."

Immediately Rory jumped up, donned her backpack and waited expectantly for her mom.

The duo giddily made their way from the potting shed to the kitchen at the Independence Inn, where Sookie was waiting for them, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Fresh out of the Culinary Institute of America, the assistant chef was the cream of the crop. Close in age to Lorelai, and Sookie, a clumsy but good-natured woman was in love with Rory. She greeted them excitedly, and in her typical manner almost destroyed the kitchen. Lorelai grinned with exasperation. "Morning, Sookie," she said, laughing. "Morning girls!" chirped Sookie, shoving pancakes and waffles into their mouths, and thrusting coffee at Lorelai in a true sign of friendship. "How my Gilmore girls doing?"

Rory could barely wait to tell Sookie. "It's my first day of second grade!" She was so excited and adorable the whole kitchen staff clapped, and Sookie gave her a hug. "Go get 'em, sweets," she said, as she embraced the blue and bright-eyed student in her grasp.

"Thanks, Sookie," said Lorelai. "I just have to take Rory to school, and then I'll be back. We're going a _little_ early this morning. _Biiiig_ day," she feigned the happiness for Rory's benefit. Secretly, Lorelai hated the first-days-of-school. Last year, and the especially the year before, for kindergarten, it was a marathon of "You're SO young," looks of haughty disapproval, and "You must be the babysitter" from average parents in the small-town Connecticut town of Stars Hollow where the Independence Inn was located. They hopped in Lorelai's car, a used Jeep Wrangler, and, with a sigh from Lorelai and a squeal from Rory, set off towards Stars Hollow Elementary.

All through the short ride, Rory bounced excitedly in her seat. Second grade already! Lorelai smiled sadly at her daughter, she couldn't believe she was growing up already. She knew that in a couple years Rory would become more and more independent and that thought made her sad.

Soon Lorelai parked the car in front of the school and Rory jumped out, full off anticipation.

Lorelai had to run to catch up with her, "Whoah, hold on sweetie. Mommy is in heels. She can't run so fast."

An impatient Rory then took her mother's hand and tried to drag her to the door when suddenly the pair almost, literally, ran into someone.

Another mother with her young daughter, except there was a stark difference. This mother-daughter pair didn't seem anywhere as happy as Lorelai and Rory were and the mother carried a stern expression. The mother's harsh look first flicked to Lorelai, then to Rory and then back to Lorelai.

Meanwhile, the shy girl who hid behind her mother curiously looked at Rory while Rory at her.

They stared at each other when Rory timidly said, "Hi, are you in second grade?"

The black-haired girl nodded, "Yes." After a beat she said, "I'm Lane."

At that Rory smiled, "I like that. I'm Rory. This is my mother."

Lorelai, glad to have an excuse to escape the Korean woman's harsh look, smiled at them, "Nice to meet you Lane." Suddenly the woman's head snapped towards her daughter, "Lane! Come on. Don't talk to them."

Meekly, Lane answered, "Yes, Mama!" She followed her but not without a quick smile towards Rory.


	2. First meetings

Chapter 2:

Soon, Rory knew it was time for her to go in, and she wiggled with excitement. She couldn't wait, but she knew her mom always hated letting her go on the first days of school.

"Mom, I should go in," said Rory, tapping Lorelai, with a mixture of giddiness and the impatient attitude she was famous for on first-days. "I know I'm still early but it's always better to be in the room early the first day so I can pick the best seat."

Lorelai smiled at her cute and eager daughter. "Yes, I know. I wouldn't want you to get the seat in front of a big kid or worse between chattermouths!" She laughed good-naturedly, and kissed her daughter on the forehead, "Be good. I love you sweetie. I'll be waiting for you halfway between here and the inn, like you asked." Lorelai had to compromise with the stubborn eight-year-old about walking. Rory, of course, wanted her independence, but Lorelai was a little freaked about her kid just strolling home from school. They met each other halfway, literally. Lorelai smiled down on the little girl- _her_ little girl- that was hanging on to her thigh.

Rory kissed and her hugged her mom, "Bye mom! I'm so excited!" Smiling Rory skipped into school as her mother watched her with a bittersweet smile.

Excitedly Rory went into her classroom and sat down in a desk in the front row. With a buzz she'd later get from the coffee addiction she'd inherit, Rory watched other kids coming into the room. She was satisfied to see no one she knew who talked a lot, smelled badly or would in general distract her from learning was sitting nearby. Suddenly she jumped when she heard a voice from her other side, "Do you mind if I sit here?" It was the girl the black-haired girl she met earlier, Lane. Rory smiled, "Oh, of course not. Sit here." The two girls shared a shy smile and Rory was glad to share her desk with someone who was nice and most of all, at having made a new friend.

Meanwhile Lorelai walked around town, a little aimlessly. She couldn't believe how fast Rory was growing up; it seemed like yesterday when she was still changing her diapers in the small shed of theirs. Lorelai didn't know where to go, she still had an hour until work and she didn't feel like going back there to talk to Sookie. She'd be too excited about Rory and not understand Lorelai's gloomy mood. Suddenly she found herself in front of Luke's diner. She had been there a couple times, the coffee was excellent and the owner's mood seemed always to be bad; he wasn't one for small talk. She sighed and trudged on, back to the Jeep, and back to the Inn.

School let out after an exciting first day for Rory and Lane, who had gotten past the "what's your favorite color?" foundations of their newly planted relationship, and began warming up to each other a bit, which was quite the feat for two very shy little girls. Finally, Rory took a big gulp and, with all the courage she could muster, asked Lane if she wanted to walk the part of the way home from school with her. Lane, happily, agreed. They gathered their bags, full with phonics spellers and math workbooks and crayons, and set off.

The two bubbling girls discussed their teacher (yay) the boredom they had when the spelling words were handed out (nay) and the fact that they were each other's first real friend (double yay). They were mid-step crossing the street when suddenly, Rory tripped on the curb and fell.

She started crying, and Lane ran inside the nearest store screaming for help. The store said "Williams Hardware," as Lane could read. She thought hardware stores sold hammers, but the man at the counter had a burger in his hands. Lane, breathlessly and rapidly spat out the situation: "My-friend-just-fell-and-she's-hurt-and-help-us-and-she's-crying-and-please…" Lane was near tears in fear.

Gingerly, the man behind the counter stepped out, a look of concern and sympathy on his face. The boisterous lady at the counter chuckled and laughed heartily. "Luke's never nice to kids!" she muttered to another woman, who smiled, and responded, "Patty, maybe he's havin' a good day. You never know with him, you know?"

The man behind the counter, who Lane assumed was Luke, stooped down and looked her in the eye. "What's wrong?" he asked, with a hint of concern. Lane took a deep breath, and pointed outside to Rory, who was teary-eyed and sitting with her bloody and skinned knee on the sidewalk.

Luke took Lane's clammy hand as they headed outside to bandage up Rory. He brought her a glass of cold water, and a towel for her wound. Rory, eternally grateful, smiled at this mysterious man clad in plaid and smiled, her face soaked with tears. "Thank you," she said, over and over again. He just smiled, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners, glad to be of help to such sweet girls and break out of his trademark grumpiness. "Anytime," he replied, and headed back inside.


	3. First impressions

Dislcaimer: We don't own anything related to the WB, Gilmore Girls or any of its affiliates, at all.

Summary: General story on the young Gilmores growing up in the Hollow.

A/N: We would just like to thank all for your wonderful reviews and we are glad you like the story! We'll keep on writing as long as you want us to.

Chapter 3

After the man left back into the building Rory was standing again already. Her tears were gone and the knee looked much better with the help of the towel, as he didn't have any band-aids. It still hurt of course but mostly all Rory needed was some comfort, and somehow that nice stranger was able to provide it, something usually only her mother was capable of.

Lane made sure that her new friend was okay after hastily saying goodbye, she quickly explained to Rory that her mother was very strict and that she had to be home - the antique shop- exactly 15 minutes after school was over or she would get home-schooled which she didn't want to risk. It already had been longer than that, but an anxious Lane explained hastily that enough praying would save her this time. With quick promises to see each other the next day, the two friends parted ways.

Rory herself had to hurry as her mom was surely already waiting by the halfway point, a bridge by the lake, and probably worried. Rory was proven right when only a couple steps towards the bridge she saw her mom quickly coming towards her.

"Hey mom!" Rory said happily, hoping her mom wouldn't notice her skinned knee.

"Rory! What took you so long? I was waiting and you didn't show!"

Rory's eyes were on fire as she relished in the details of her interesting afternoon. She explained dramatically about the kind man who had been so nice to help her with her fall, and Lorelai's face softened, all though the fact of her daughter being hurt alarmed her. Lorelai has very few things in life that mattered to her except for Rory, who she cherished with every fiber of her body. It was similar to the animal instinct that mother bears have to protect and fend for their children: Lorelai was the textbook definition of this trait. She hugged Rory tightly, and took a look at Rory's pierced knee. "My little trooper!" she laughed, as she put a barbie bandaid on it from her purse, and told herself to stop being such a paranoid mother—she could _not_ turn into _her_ over-neurotic and overprotective mother!

Taking Rory's soft hand, Lorelai continued on their walk back to the inn. She loved how animated Rory was when she talked about Lane, and Rory insisted on having a playdate with Lane. And soon. Lorelai was well aware that Rory hardly ever asked for anything, and figured she should probably meet this Lane and her mother a little more closely. She stopped in their tracks, and knelt down to Rory.

"Hey, you. Why don't we turn around, go back to this Lane's house that you _can't stop talking about_," she rolled her eyes, playfully, and continued, "and see what all this fuss is about." Rory smiled, and jumped up and down, which was a rare act for the rather subdued girl. "Besides," said Lorelai, proudly, "I'd like to meet her mother." Lorelai didn't know what she was getting into.

The duo walked back where they had came from until they approached Kim's Antiques, a nice-looking store. Taking a deep breath, Lorelai knocked on the door. She flattened her suit, and tried to look presentable and hopefully a little bit older. Her mind raced. _This was a sucky idea_, she thought._ I shouldn't have done this, _a voice said. _You're too young! You're too young!_ She sighed.

A woman yelled from inside the cluttered shop. "Come in! Sale today! All item? Half-off!" Lorelai headed for the voice amidst a maze of chairs, tables, and other knick-knacks until she eventually maneuvered her way to the source. Rory followed. They were met bythe small Korean woman, they saw earlier at the school, who looked as if she meant business. Lorelai shivered inwardly. Shoot.

Rory began, without a signal from Lorelai. "I'm Lane's friend, Rory!" The woman, who Lorelaipresumed correctly to be Mrs. Kim, squinted and shook her head. "Lane. Girl in here. Your friend?" Lane hurried into the scene, and was overjoyed to see Rory. "Yes, Mama," she replied, obediently.

Lorelai gathered her voice. "Ma'am," she started. "My daughter, Rory, and your daughter, Lane, have become friends at school. I just thought it was—" she was interrupted by the terror-stricken look on Mrs. Kim's face.

"You! Her MOTHER!" Mrs. Kim face was similar to how Lorelai's own mother had looked when that fateful strip turned pink- positive. A positively negative expression on both women.

Lorelai was worried. What had she gotten herself into? And in front of Rory? "Yes, I am her mother. I just thought it would appropriate for us to meet, if our daughters were to be together a lot. Lane can spend time with Rory whenever she likes."

Mrs. Kim didn't need this little speech. "You. Out. Take this Rory with you. You old enough to be her sister! You old enough to be my daughter! Out. Now."

With that, Lorelai took Rory's hand and stomped out, and memories of her exasperation with being a teen mother flooded out. Rory silently waved goodbye to Lane, and sadly departed.


	4. Another meeting

Disclaimer: We don't own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls, the WB or anything even remotely related to it.

Summary: Just a cute, general story focusing on Rory and Lorelai's life in Stars Hollow before the show started. We both felt there was not enough stories of that sort so we decided to write one.

A/N: We are sorry for the long delay but now we are back on track. Sometimes life gets in the way of fanfic, unfortunately. As always, we hope you like the story and reviews are always very welcome!

Chapter 4:

Lorelai sighed deeply as she looked at her sleeping daughter's form. She had finally been able to get Rory to sleep after she had been so upset about Lane's mother. For the rest of the day Rory was quiet and sad which made Lorelai even sadder than she already was. She knew this whole teenage-pregnancy thing would be no piece of cake, but the incident at Mrs. Kim's store proved that once again. She was afraid how much it would affect Rory. Would little shy Rory with the "she's so young!" mother ever have any friends?

It was still early, but the day had exhausted Rory so much that she was sound asleep at 8 o'clock. With a small smile Lorelai stood up from the chair, covered Rory up completely with her little blanket and left their little shed. She needed to clear her head, maybe get some food and coffee and just think.

As the kitchen at the inn would be very busy at this time of the day, she nixed that idea. She sighed again, maybe a walk around time wouldn't hurt; she could probably hunt down coffee somewhere else. After a few minutes of walking she noticed it was starting to rain. She actually never minded rain, she found it refreshing and comforting. It was no snow, but she thought of it as an adequate substitute. Anyways it rained so little it was barely noticeable. Lorelai did however find herself craving coffee more than before and found herself in front of Luke's Diner. She had been there before, twice actually. Once, well both, times to get coffee. The first time was when she had only lived here for a little while and she had the coffee, it was delicious but Rory had kept her so busy she had returned there only a few months ago. That time it was busy and she had such a caffeine shortage that she bugged the owner, Luke, so much that he was completely annoyed by her. For reasons she doesn't even know anymore, she even gave him a horoscope to convince him to give her coffee.

She smiled, hopefully he didn't remember that. She opened the door looking for an open table. It was pretty full and she didn't like the idea of sitting by herself at a table for four so she went to the counter. The guy she remembered so vividly, with his scruffy look and baseball cap appeared. He squinted at her, "I assume you want some coffee?" She cringed, he did remember her. In a small voice, she asked, "You remember me?"

He poured her some of the comforting dark liquid as she salivated at the aroma. He grinned. "It's not everyday that someone harasses me for coffee and gives me a horoscope." She smiled, drinking it, and remarked in his direction, "Mmm. Still as good as I remembered." Luke nodded as walking away to some other table, "I'm glad."

Lorelai drank the coffee in quiet and then even had a burger and fries. She loved her daughter very much but once in a while it was nice to be out alone. When she was almost done she looked up and noticed the diner to be empty except her. Luke was looking at her. Lorelai was startled at being alone so suddenly. "Hey, um, what happened? Why is everyone gone?" Luke pointed outside, "People wanted to get home before the storm hits and I'm about to close."

Lorelai nodded, "Oh right. I'm sorry for keeping you from closing." She stood up and her hand on the handle when she remembered, "Luke, one thing." He looked up at her expectantly and a little impatiently. Of course, he was still marveling her eating habits. Lorelai continued, "Well, I just wanted to thank you for helping Rory, my daughter this morning." Luke looked very confused, "Your daughter? Wait I'm sorry what are you talking…wait you mean the little girl that fell in front of my store?" She nodded, he stared. "You…you have a daughter?" She was quiet for a little while then nodded defiantly; she wasn't ashamed she never was, "Yes, I do. She is eight years old, and before you ask I was 16 when I had her and I'm not ashamed of her at all!" She turned towards the door when she felt him grabbing her arm, "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that. It was just kind of unexpected." Lorelai nodded, calming down, "I'm sorry too, I overreacted. I should get going. It looks like the rain is coming down harder and Rory doesn't like storms so I should be with her." He called back to her and she was about to leave, "Lorelai?" she turned as he continued, "You're welcome. She seems like a very sweet kid." Lorelai warmed and smiled, "She is. Thanks again."

With that she was gone, it was cold outside and the rain was coming down hard. Quickly she made her way back to the inn cringing as she saw lightning and heard thunder not much later. Rory hated storms; Lorelai hadn't been lying about that to Luke.

She rushed into the cabin, to find Rory sitting up in bed, teary-eyed. Lorelai felt like absolute dirt. Here she was, flirting (had it been flirting? She couldn't say.) and chowing down on burgers and inhaling coffee, when her little eight year-old was trembling. Lorelai swooped in for a hug, but Rory wanted to know more.

"Where were you, Mom?" she asked, her eyes prying into Lorelai's flushed face and coffee-scent. Lorelai couldn't very well lie to Rory, especially after she had left her alone in the thunder, and 'fessed up. "I'm sorry, babe. I needed coffee. I went into that diner, where you had fallen? I wanted to thank the man." She inhaled, slowly, noticing that Rory was calming down a bit. "The nice, nice man. He really likes you, Ror."

The thunder had died down. Rory relaxed. She giggled, and tickled her mom. "No, Mom," she started. "I think he really likes _you!"_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: We don't own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls, the WB or anything even remotely related to it.

Summary: Just a cute, general story focusing on Rory and Lorelai's life in Stars Hollow before the show started. We both felt there was not enough stories of that sort so we decided to write one.

A/N: Here's another chapter. We'll try to keep this updated as much as possible but we'll both be busy this summer. We'll try the best we can. Hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 5:

"Bye, Rory!" Lorelai said, as she dropped off Rory at the Kim's house so that Rory could walk to school with Lane. Actually, it wasn't _at_ the Kim's house, she noted begrudgingly, it was a "safe distance" away from it, due to the last incident with Mrs. Kim, who reminded Lorelai of a prison guard. She sighed, and scuffed back across town, and glanced into the window of Luke's. Rory was so full of it, when it came to men. She was eight, after all, and that guy was nothing more than a man who came bearing coffee.

But coffee was coffee, and as any java junkie knows, its callings cannot be denied. Lorelai opened the door of the diner, it dinged, and she sat herself at the counter.

The guy sitting next to Lorelai was talking to Luke about giving him a nickname. "How about… Duke?" the guy asked, laughing. Luke glared. Lorelai, who was trying to fixate herself by cutting up her pancakes into a million different pieces, sniggered. She loved this. For some reason, Luke's annoyed expression was just what she needed, her own little toy. "Hey, _Duke_, can you fill up my coffee again?" she asked. The guy next to her grinned. She sort of felt bad for this flannel-clad diner owner, but the again, she was having too much fun to stop.

"_Duke_, thanks for everything. The coffee kicked ass." She chuckled and left, happy with her teasing. The guy seemed like someone she would have gone to high school with and made fun of, of course. She was all snark and no love, except to Rory.

Lorelai made her way back to the Inn, and found Sookie in the kitchen.

"Well, well, missy, where were you?" Sookie asked, noting Lorelai's grin.

"At that diner, Luke's," said Lorelai. "I had been in there a few days ago to thank Luke for fixing Rory's cut a few days back. But then, this guy was there, and he was all, 'we should call you Duke!' and I sort of stole it, and now I started calling him Duke, it's fabulous—"

Sookie cut Lorelai off. "Luke Danes? He helped Rory? Aw, that's cute," she sighed. "I wish there were more men like Luke."

Lorelai gasped. She threw up a little in her mouth. "You… what? No, no, no, Sookie, that's weird. That's weirder than weird. That's my mother grinding with Louis XIV weird!"

Sookie just smiled, happy with her own thoughts. It's true he couldn't cook like she did. But he did cook, after all. And it's true he rarely talked. But she knew he was a good guy, deep down inside. After a few minutes, she looked at Lorelai again. "Duke?"

Lorelai nodded, grinning.

Sookie continued, "I never really liked him though, just something to look at when I had to get away from the inn, y'know? We'd be really competitive with our cooking if we ever got together. Well, anyway, I think he's been pretty involved lately…"

Lorelai checked her watch. "Ah, Sook, we can finish this little chat about Duke later. I've got a bunch of things to do back at the front desk, we're having a big group of antiquers in at two, and then go get Rory from school, then do the laundry. Bye, hon."

Sookie waved her off. She could hardly believe Lorelai was the same age as she was. Sookie had done what she'd intended to do: go to the Culinary Institute of America, help as the chef for a while at a great place, and eventually become the head chef. She thought about guys on the market and getting food for the day's recipe from the market. Her best friend was busy worrying about parent-teacher meetings, school-clothes and raising a kid.

Rory meanwhile was in school, sitting next to her new best-friend Lane. Ever since they met a couple of days ago they were almost inseparable. The Mrs. Kim blow-up was almost forgotten and Rory had, thankfully, not seen that woman since. Lane and she walked to school together but always met a little ways of where Mrs. Kim had no way of seeing them. As the bell rang signaling the end of the school day, Rory was already finished with the small math assignment they were to do. While everybody else would have to do it at home, it gave her valuable time to study the multiplication table again. She truly loved school.

Rory waited for Lane and then the two friends made their way, chatting happily and freely. They heard the harsh yell of, "Lane!" It was Mrs. Kim. Oh no. Lane quickly turned around towards the voice. Mrs. Kim asked sharply, "Were you walking with that...that girl?" With a glare towards Rory who stood to the side. Lane with an apologetic look towards Rory said, "No, Mama. She was just there." At that, Mrs. Kim grabbed Lane's hand and together they walked to the store.

Rory stared after them feeling a bit neglected and even hurt. She knew Lane's mother is strict and that Lane said what she had to say but it still hurt to hear her being treated as if she was below human, to Mrs. Kim she probably was.

That's how Lorelai found her a few seconds later, staring at the Antique store. Lorelai quickly figured out was happened; not the details but she had a good idea. Instead of pressing her daughter, she kindly asked her if she was hungry. With a promise of Sookie's wonderful cookies as a dessert, Rory cheered up but Mrs. Kim and Lane still nagged at the back of her mind.

They two went to bed not much later, both had an exhausting day. The next morning Lorelai woke up to a freezing shed, it was still dark out but why was it so cold? She shivered terribly and immediately wondered what caused it to be this cold. The cause was soon found, a window was broken. How it happened she had no idea, but it was an old shed, these things can happen. Of course it worried her, as she put on a thick sweater over her pajamas. She looked towards her small sleeping daughter and piled another blanket on her.

She didn't want Rory to wake up now, but she was worried what this cold could do to her. Not knowing what to do Lorelai walked outside, where it was somehow a bit warmer than inside. She needed to find something or someone preferrably who could help her, now; at about 5 in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Lorelai started walking over to her Jeep. She could see her breath in the 5 a.m. chilliness that was Stars Hollow, Connecticut, in the fall. She was desperate, and figured she'd drive into town and try to pick up something—anything, anywhere, hell, she'd take _anyone_-- to fix the shed.

She aimlessly patrolled the empty streets of Peach and Plum and Orange until she was circling the gazebo. Then, she realized that above Luke's Diner, or Duke's, she thought, with a chuckle, was a sign for "William's Hardware." Lorelai stopped the Jeep and got out. If the sign was there, someone at some point must have had some experience with sheds that needed fixing, right? She sure hoped so.

As Lorelai stepped out, she heard footsteps from behind the store. Someone was obviously up. At this early? It was disgusting. Yet, she was happy she wasn't the only one up. She waited as they approached, and she saw the diner owner himself. Luke looked surprised, as he placed her. "Hello?" he asked, curiously. "Um, we don't open for a while…"

"Yeah, I know, but you see, I saw your sign for William's Hardware, and I thought that maybe you knew something about fixing sheds because you see my daughter and I, the one you met, Rory, we live in this sort of shed on the inn, the Independence Inn, not a creepy 'oh, gross, cardboard box' shed, it's our home, but, yeah it broke—"

Luke cut the high-speed ramblings of a surprisingly awake Lorelai off. She was younger than him, he assumed, and he was right. At 24, Lorelai wasn't much older than a college student, and she looked like one, especially in her pajamas. Not that he had been doing this diner thing so long himself. And he'd picked up quite a bit about hardware from his dad, by working in the shop so many years. Yeah, he'd help this Lorelai out a bit.

He sighed, and smiled. "Let me get my toolbox." He headed inside.

Lorelai looked relieved. "Thank you so much. I just hate to see my little girl all freezing and such, and I'd hate to make the Inn fix it for me. I won't ask you for anything else again, just this once."

He just grinned, well-naturedly. "It's not a problem, really. I was up already. I don't mind fixing things here and there, my dad would be proud. It's not everyday I get to perform an act of… chivalry." He chuckled.

Lorelai pointed to her Jeep. "Here, hop in," she said, still happy she'd be fixing this problem so immediately.

Luke slid into the passenger seat, and Lorelai headed towards the shed, her personal damsel-in-distress.

The drive was a little awkward; she didn't know him or what to say to him. Instead she kept thanking and apologizing every few seconds, to which he just smiled and nodded. Thankfully the ride was short as was the walk over Inn property to the shed.

He looked at it, "You live in there? It's small." Lorelai shrugged, "It's fine. One day it might be nice to own a house, but I'm saving."

He just nodded, "Yeah. So what's wrong."

She pointed inside as she opened the door, "A window broke. It's freezing. Hold on, I'm gonna see if Rory is awake." She crept quietly inside and soon Luke could hear quiet voices, one definitely belonging to the girl who fell in front of the diner sounding very sleepy.

Inside the shed a very cold and sleepy Rory asked her mother, "What's going on? It's so cold and you weren't home when I woke up."

Lorelai smiled while hugging her daughter, "It's okay. I got some help, someone to fix the window. Just don't worry about it. Get warmer, sweetheart. Don't want you to get sick."

She motioned for Luke to walk inside and turned on the lone light, moving it closer to the broken window so he could see better. Rory turned towards her mother, "It's that guy from the diner. Why is he here?"

Lorelai smiled, "He's here to help us. Shh, sweetie. Go back to sleep."

Lorelai watched as the young guy went to work. Brows furrowed concentrated on the window. She didn't know what he was doing but it looked like he knew what to do. She didn't know what to do she felt useless. There was nothing to offer him, she had no food or drinks in the shed.

After about an hour he turned around, "So, it's all done!"

Lorelai smiled in happiness, "Really? Duke, you're the best. Umm, what would you like for payment?" She hadn't really thought about it, but she had to give him something, right?

He stared. "Umm, payment? I don't know. You don't have to give me anything?"

Lorelai became desperate, "But I dragged you away from your home at 5 in the morning to fix a window that technically could have waited to be fixed later, I barely know you and already have you doing big favors..."

Luke interrupted, "I really don't mind doing work, my dad helped anyone who asked all the time, he would have helped you too. But if you really want to do something, you can stop calling me 'Duke'."

At that, Lorelai smiled, "Well...I don't know. That is a pretty big payment." She grinned, "Yes, fine Duke, I will stop calling you that."

They shared a small smile until he said, "Well, I have to go. I should have already opened."


End file.
